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Rick Hanson: Mother Nurture

The average American today eats over 150 pounds per year of refined sugars -- compared to zero pounds during most of human history. High consumption of sugar (and the elevated levels of insulin that come with it) is associated with Type II diabetes, weight gain and other health complications.

Many mothers say they wish their partner sympathized more with their situation. But the other side of the coin is also often true: that a father wishes his partner understood HIM more. Since one of the best ways to receive more understanding and consideration is to give it, let's take a moment to explore empathy for a father.

I have an extreme amount of stress in my job. Not just because I am military but because of the different situations I am involved in at work. I find that I am able to de-stress after I get home and away from the office but meanwhile I spend 9 hours a day being stressed and constantly upset. I know that stress can affect the baby but how much can it affect my pregnancy?

By the end of the day, I feel frazzled and chock full of pent up feelings and thoughts. I don't want to let all that out on my kids or my husband -- and I hate it when I do -- so do you know any ways to get rid of this stuff without exploding?!

It's extremely rare for a preschooler to be clinically depressed, unless something seriously traumatic has happened. It sounds more like your son is just vulnerable to getting bumped into a bad mood, and that it's harder than one would like for him to climb back out of his slump. And he sounds very normal; lots of other kids have similar tendencies. So what to do?

Disagreements and grievances are normal in any relationship, whether it's between a mom and dad, or between two nations or peoples. All too often, though, they get out of hand, leading to hurt feelings, anger, and lashing out. Your best chance of resolving a quarrel is to do the four things below, even if you just do them yourself.

Nurturing yourself is what enables you to be at your best for your children. Further, mothering is not a hobby you picked up for fun. You work hard for the sake of your children and family, and that entitles you to respect, care -- and stress relief.

Although acne is "merely" a superficial skin disease, it's possible that it causes teenagers more misery than all other diseases combined. Developing sometimes when kids are as young as 11, and lasting into early adulthood, chronic skin problems wear on on the fragile self-esteem and mood common among adolescents.

Adult anger is very scary for little children, and it can start a parent down the slippery slope of emotional or even physical abuse. Plus it's a kind of affliction upon the parent herself: it feels terrible and makes us feel guilty.

I think we're just talking about how we're each feeling about something, he thinks we're trying to identify some problem and solve it. I end up feeling like he's not really listening to me, and he ends up feeling frustrated that we're not getting anywhere